Little River Chapter of Trout Unlimited

Happy fall, Friends!
If you spent your summer traveling – welcome back! It’s hard to believe fall is already upon us. With cooler weather comes fishing season (yay!), new Norton Creek fishing dates, and a full slate of projects for the Little River Chapter.

Trout in the Classroom
There were a few supply snags with tank supplies early on, but thanks to Dave Tolliver everything is now on track, and eggs will be distributed September 18. Some of the tanks have moved to new locations with unique purposes and audiences:

– Covey Farm Treeschool – Jenna Jackson (a former TIC program teacher) is the Director and Lead Teacher for a mix of preschool, kindergarten, and first-grade students. Along with Jenna, the students will take a truly hands-on approach to caring for the tank—feeding fish, checking water quality, and tracking their growth. We look forward to working with this school and wish them all the luck in their first season!

– Heritage Middle School – Julia Ross, formerly the hands-on teacher at Townsend Middle School, retired from teaching but couldn’t stay away from Trout in the Classroom. Together with Mr. Wieltlisbach, she has brought the Townsend Elementary tank to Heritage Middle School students. The Heritage High School AP Environmental students will be involved with managing the project as part of their coursework while also earning volunteer hours.

It’s great to see these new opportunities for education, stewardship, and youth involvement take root!

Other Fall Projects
Along with Trout in the Classroom, LRCTU has a busy fall schedule ahead:

– River Cleanups:
– Little River – with cookout Saturday, October 4 – Meet at Metcalf Bottoms
– Pistol Creek – Saturday, November 8 – Meet in the parking lot of Blount County Courthouse
– Townsend Fall Festival booth – September 26 – 27
– Norton Creek Fishing Days

September Chapter Meeting – Thursday, September 25
Join us as videographer Ben Fields takes us on a visual journey with some incredible footage and even better stories. This is one you won’t want to miss—I can personally vouch that it’s worth seeing! Want a sneak peek? Check out dorsaloutdoors.com. Just copy and paste link into your browser.

Your support is the heart of Little River Chapter. Whether you’re donating time, sharing your expertise, or simply showing up to lend a hand, you’re helping us make a difference for trout, rivers, and our community.

Thanks for all you do!
Kim Emery

“The best fisherman I know try not to make the same mistakes over and over again; instead they strive to make new and interesting mistakes and to remember what they learned from them.”
– John Gierach “Fly Fishing the High Country”

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Cannot believe Labor Day is just around the corner!
The summer LRCTU picnic was a great day for all—even if it was a tad warm. Talk about being tied to a hot stove… Bob and Joyce were in it to win it on that grill. I’m pretty sure Joyce shrank a couple of inches from water loss alone!

I’m not sure everyone realizes just how hard the LRCTU Board works to keep our chapter successful and involved. I didn’t either—until I was smack in the middle of it. Kudos to our board! I’m continually impressed by their dedication to our mission, to growing our membership, and to getting the word out about who we are and what we do. LRCTU is lucky to have such passionate people who care deeply.

That said, the board is nothing without our members—and we have some amazing ones. When I first joined, I’ll admit I was intimidated. It felt like everyone knew what was going on except me. Then I dipped a toe in and realized… they did know what was going on—but they were more than happy to share their knowledge and welcome me in. The best part? Being able to give what you can, when you can—no expectations.

So here’s my challenge: if you see a cleanup, trout release, or project coming up—just show up. No RSVP, no fuss. An hour of your time can make a big difference—and you might meet people you’d never have crossed paths with otherwise. Maybe even some new fishing friends.

Hope your summer has been full of great stories (and maybe a few fish tales). See you at the August meeting—Thursday, August 28th. Still traveling? I’ll catch you in September.

Fish on!
Kim

“Three-fourths of the Earth’s surface is water, and one-fourth is land. It is quite clear that the good Lord intended us to spend triple the amount of time fishing as taking care of the lawn.” – Chuck Clark

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The weekend before the 4th, I headed to North Carolina and the Tuckasegee for a smallmouth float. We started at 7:30 a.m., drove to one put-in, but the river was nothing but mud. We tried another put-in — not much better. So we drove an hour and a half back to get on the stream.

At the spot, Jeremy — a guide I’ve known for years — asked, “You want to take a nice little path or slide down a hill?” Naturally, I chose to slide. But when I saw the 30-foot vertical drop, slick with moss, no footholds, nothing to grab onto, I hesitated. “Are we coming back up this way?” I asked. “Nope,” Jeremy said. “Where we get out upstream, there are stairs.” Down we went.

My casting was off, but the afternoon was beautiful. Downstream, mist danced over the water and rocks. I love that timeless view downriver. As we worked upstream, a massive pile of trees blocked our path. We couldn’t go around — a huge, active hornet’s nest hung over the river — so we climbed over.

As we changed flies, fat raindrops began to fall. We both said, “It’ll pass.” Then the sky opened up and dumped buckets on us. Still, we agreed, “It’ll pass.” Suddenly the sky lit up like fireworks, followed by a loud crack. “Time. To. Get. Out. Of. Here!” We scrambled back over the trees and up the now-slippery hill. I pulled myself up along rocks and mountain laurel until, nearing the top, Jeremy was able to get ahead and haul me up the rest of the way.

At the truck, we were laughing, soaked, out of breath — exhilarated. On the drive home, retelling the story, I realized: even though I didn’t catch a fish, fly fishing had once again given me another unforgettable story to add to my life’s archives. Most days start and end pretty normally. But a day with a fly rod in hand is the beginning of a mystical, magical journey — where beauty and adventure always await.

Here fishy, fishy, fishy!

Hope to see you at the picnic!!!!
Kim Emery
President

“Often I have been exhausted on trout streams, uncomfortable, wet, cold, briar scarred, sunburned, mosquito bitten, but never, with a fly rod in my hand have I been less than in a place that was less than beautiful.”
-Charles Kuralt

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